Signing a striker is a big priority for Sunderland boss Di Canio

Why hitmen will be top of the summer transfer hitlist for Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio

Paolo Di Canio will put strikers at the top of his summer shopping list after admitting the squad he inherited lacks firepower.

Di Canio took over a squad with only three out-and-out strikers – Steven Fletcher, Danny Graham and teenager Connor Wickham – along with deep-lying frontman Stephane Sessegnon.

With top scorer Fletcher ruled out for the remainder of the season before Di Canio even took over, his attacking options were already reduced.

So much so he has had to include rookie Academy scholar Mikael Mandron on the bench as cover for his first two games in charge, with a knee problem confining Graham to the bench at Chelsea.

Wickham sat out last weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby win through injury.

Di Canio knows he needs more strength in the attacking third and addressing that problem will be among his priorities in the close season.

He said: “I do not want to be critical, but if you are a team who wants to stay up or a team who wants to win the league, you need five strikers.

“Not three or four, five – one of which should be a young one like Wickham.

“This club only had Fletcher until January and Sessegnon, who is a second striker.

“What happens if Fletcher gets a cold?

“Danny Graham arrived in January and now he is back in the team, but you cannot afford to be short on strikers.

“Wherever you are in the league you need to score goals.”

While Di Canio’s options are limited, Sunderland have scored four goals in his first two games in charge – and he insists the Black Cats have enough goals in their side to fire them to safety in the final five games of the season.

He added: “We still have enough players to score goals. Why?

“I have watched games from earlier in the season and we did not have more than one or two players in the box, but now you have seen we have four or five players in the box and we create chances.”

Di Canio has not only changed Sunderland’s tactics but also their training regime, cancelling the usual midweek day off and working his players harder on a daily basis.

The former Swindon boss has warned his players this is only the start, promising them things will get even tougher next season when he has had the chance to implement his new regime from the start of pre- season.

The Italian, who has himself rarely left the training ground before 11pm since taking over, said: “We cannot have a weak programme because we do not have time to change things.

“Every day we are checking to see how they respond to the training – hamstrings, quads.

“The sessions are a different way of working, but it is a short period so we have to be careful.”

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